6x6 maxx based crawler
 

I would post this in the project x area, but the img code is still off, and I want to ask some picture based questions.

So my idea is to mate a pair of emaxx trucks back to back and use a single pair of rear bulkheads to attach both chassis. I just finished making the dual pinion diff that I am going to use to transfer power to the rear set of wheels. The tranny will be on the front chassis, and I will have the front and rear wheels steerable while the center pair are fixed.

Below are some pics of the dual pinion diff I made. Using new emaxx diff cases, just bought 2 packets of them and cut them in half, then plastic welded them together. Took about 45mins to do start to finish. I plan to run revo spools in all 3 diffs, for maximum traction.

Not the prettiest thing, but I am going to bash this truck, and it will be made out of well used spares I have laying around:yipi:

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...p/DSCF2644.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...p/DSCF2645.jpg

First question for you gentlemen. I need to find a set of al rear bulkheads that are not machined in the area shown in the below pic.

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...SCF2646mod.jpg

I need it to be the same thickness as the rest of the bulk, with no material removed, because I want to cut it and tap threads so that the rear chassis can mount to it like the front one will. Plus I need to make the hole that the diff collar fits into to support the output pinion.

Ok, looked at the golden horizons and integy bulks and they do not look like they will work. I also had a look at the fastlane machine bulks and they look like they will, but I could do with a better pic of the inside... Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Sounds like you would be better off with a custom part. Get it machined out of Delrin, or polycarbonate, perhaps. It would be a lot cheaper that aluminum. I don't know of any parts out there that haven't had the extra material removed. They all go for the "lighter is better" approach, even though it's hundredth's of an ounce...

Could you possibly "fill it in" with someting and then work on it? JB plastic weld?

I was thinking of the same thing... May have to give it a try.

Looks like i found a set of bulkheads that do not have the material removed. I will try to pick them up, and mod them. Still going to be cheaper than having a set made from scratch.

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...imp/aeb2_1.jpg

Looking at the traxxas bulks I have the mod looks realatively simple. I will cut the upper bumper brace are off, and fab up a 1/4" thick piece of al to use as a mount. I will clearance the rear bulk to allow it to fit level and will bolt right thru it into a tapped hole in the bulk. Hopefully that will provide enough strength. I may step up to a m4 thread bolt there if there is enough material to work with.

Oo those are shiny! :oh: This is to attach the fore and aft chassis, correct? Can you slice the bulkheads in half through the bearing recess, use only the front parts of the left/right pieces, and glue them back together?

Like this! (MS Paint is a wonderful thing)

Only issue with doing that is that the arm mounts are not symentrical to the center of the bulk. I think I have cured the problem, I should have pics up tomorrow after a bit more fabbing and trimming.

Awe, bummer. I missed that one. :oops: I'm anxious to see what you came up with.

Pretty simple, used some jb weld to fill the bulkhead voids, and I will trim it up, and tap it to accept a m4 thread bolt.

looks great lincpimp, i cant wait to see the rest of it

Thanks, once I get the center bulk sorted out I can assemble it all. I think I have everything needed to make it work. Not sure how well it will perform, but I am optimistic...

Ok, got some more work done today. The entire center section is finished save for a bit of final trimming the center skid. Looks like it will work well, very solid. This truck is going to be big, that is for sure...

Kinda wondering what to do for a body. I think I will make a tube roll cage that is shaped to resemble some sort of army vehicle, and fill it in with lexan panels. Sort of like how the crawler guys make panels for their tubers... anyone whant to give me any ideas? Just post a pic or link!

Should be able to get some pics up tomorrow...

Q. Are the 3 sets of wheels/ axles evenly spaced, or will the rear two be closer together, with a larger gap to the front axle?

I was thinking something like giant baja buggy army vehicle of sorts, or something like that monster from Final Fantasy: The spirits within (love that film, need to watch the dvd again soon I think)...

Now you just need to dually's for 6 X 10!

http://cgi.ebay.com/T-Maxx/Savage-Be...18104006r25247

All 3 will be evenly spaced, with the front and rear steerable. The center axle will be fixed. All 6 wheels will be driven and all locked full time. I may try to incorporate the summit diffs... I also want to make some sort of servo actuated adjustable height suspension. I am also working on another maxx based 6x6. This will have the rear wheels close together, like the truck stop racing mgt.

This truck will be a slow speed crawler, but the other truck will be a basher. I need some machine tools to make the transfer diff case for it, so that may be a few months...

Good lord, that would be an expensive mod, as I would have to buy at least 4 sets of beadlock wheels...!!!

It would be cool though. I am wondering what tires to ue on this. I will do the shakedown runs with talons as I have a bunch of them. I think I have some mashers, and I also have 4 of the losi claw tires from my aftershock. Those are decent crawling tires. 6 moab xl tires on the narrow 40 series beadlocks would be awesome, but $200 bucks for wheels and tires is a bit much!!!!!

For your adjustable suspension, May be a long shot but put the upper shock mounts on really strong servos and adjust from there, so you could have different heights on each side, if you use a 6 channel radio, you can put the "airride" on one stick to adjust and driving on the left. lockers on the flap or smoke switch

Update with pics!
 

So I am getting there. Finished the center skid, greased the front and center diffs, and attached all of the suspension I currently have built. I need to scare up another 3.3 diff case for the rear. And one more steering bellcrank post that is hiding somewhere.

I also need to space the johnson motors back a bit, as the shafts are too short to fit the pinions backwards. I may end up using some titans, as they will fit without mods.

Yes, the rear chassis is red, I got it in trade with a bunck of parts, and it appears to be the only other emaxx tranny I have left... I guess I cut up all of the others to make battery trays... I will order another chassis when I make my next order, so for now it will have to do.

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...p/DSCF2668.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...p/DSCF2669.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...p/DSCF2670.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...p/DSCF2671.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...p/DSCF2672.jpg

Cool.

Buy some cheap black spray paint (Krylon even) and fix that chassis, its making my eyes hurt (noobs have no taste when it comes to doing things like that to a truck...).

Are you using 4 motors? if not why not skip the rear transmission? use the rear chassis as a plat form for something, make it into a project x truck with rockets or something cool.

I think I will do that, as long as I do not need to order anything to finish the truck... Saves me 10-15 bucks for the chassis and I can run the truck now.:tongue:

You should have seen all the al parts he had ano-ed red, it was horrible. Luckily the bulks very silver, so I sold them! And the tranny case was painted silver... Very ugly paint scheme, but I only paid about 50 bucks for more than a complete truck worth of parts.:yipi:

I do own an auto body shop, so I should have a can of flat black spray-bomb around somewhere:wink:

Ah, yes, the rear tranny is only there so that I can use a pair of center driveshafts, and not have to make one really looooong driveshaft. It is empty save for the bearings and the lower shaft. I may put some sort of "project X" style stuff in it, but have a great idea that I will share as the build progresses.

maybe call flm?

i like the rocket launcher :D

I have a plan for my Matrix, a small electric airsoft gun running off a duratrax intellispeed esc on my 3rd channel:yes:

Looking good, lincpimp. I wanna see this thing rumble asap!

Looks good. (Will look a lot better when that chassis is painted though.)

Thanks, I will try to get all of the electonics wired today, but the wife wants to get a pumpkin and carve it...

Very true, I will remove it and get some paint on it tomorrow during the day.

Fun. Linc you need to have a garage sale where everything is going very cheap!!

I will be soon. Then it will all go to ebay...

Voila!!!
 

Pic of the roller!!!

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...p/DSCF2690.jpg

Working on getting some non-painted or modded chassis for it...

Should have it wired and moving in a day or two.

Without reading previous posts; did you make some kind of shaft pass-through for the center? I can see it being pretty good at obstacles, unless you want to turn... :whistle:

WOW. That's sweet linc! So it'll be 4WS with the front and rear tires moving opposite? Hey how did that through-diff come out? It looks like you got the mid-bulkhead worked out, too.

The through-diff works fine. And I modded the bulks and they seem to be fine. I would rather have a set of al bulks for ultimate strength. I should have a set in a week that will work.

The 4ws will have the tires moving opposite for a better turning circle.

Thanks! I really like this truck. I think a set of the losi claw tires from the aftershock would be killer on it. But I will test it out with the talons for now. I can lift the left front tire off the grounf about 8 inches and the center and rear tire on the other side stay on the ground, so it should easily climb stairs, which was my hidden goal that inspired the entire project!

I think if you get some 7" MGT tires stairs wont be an issue. :yes: So you are having somebody make you a mid-bulkhead?

7" may be a bit too tall unless I run a lower kv motor...

I found a generic al bulkhead on ebay that is completely solid where the bumper mounts go. I will trim it is necessary and tap it for the chassis mount screws. I should also be able to use another collar on the rear, my current design does not have room for the collar. When I get the al mounts made I will post up a pic or two. Quite simple what I did, just need a complete metal bulk to make it more simple.

I plan to make another 6x6, but this one will be more like the truck stop racing truck. It will be much more powerful and faster. I will have to get a pass thru diff case made to accomodate 1/8 gears. My current diff will most likely not hold up to a kb 45 motor on 6s... Or a 1521.

Very cool project! should be fun to crawler over stuff with.

I have a feeling that it won't turn well even with the front and rear steering unless you are on some loose terrain. That center diff being locked is RIGHT in the middle of the rig so in the turn each wheel will be wanting to go in different direction. I have a feeling it's going to be hard to overcome the traction that middle axle is going to create.

How rigid is the center section? Is there a lot of flex in the middle if you pick up one end?

Can't wait to see this thing run!

I am not to sure about the steering yet. I have a feeling it will be poor due to the fully locked drivetrain. i may have to invest in some summit diffs and figure out how to use them in maxx bulks!

The center section is super rigid. It feels very solid when lifting either end, and does not twist at all torsionally. I would be happier with a set of spec made al bulks and a machined al diff housing, but will beat up on the stuff I made and see how it does.

I will have to take a pic of it fully articulated. I can stick 3 40series wheels under the left front wheel and the right center and rear wheels still touch the ground. I have a feeling it will be fun!

I havce a set of 4 losi claw tires on aftershock rims if you're interested. Shoot me a PM. I'm looking for 2 stock MGT wheels and tires, I'd be happy to trade straight across!

I think I have a set of stock mgt wheels. Can you send me a pic, and i will get a pic of the mgt wheels?

Thanks! The talons suck for crawling!